Identification animal ear tags for cattle, hogs and the like are in widespread use. The most popular forms of these tags comprise two components formed of plastic or similar resilient material. A first component has a back-up button with a spike of hard plastic material projecting from its center. The second component, which generally carries the identification indicia, has a boss with a hole in it for receiving the spike after it is pressed through the ear of the animal. The spike then is seated in the box to secure the ear tag to the animal's ear. Typically, such tags are such made in different colors to provide identifying information concerning the animal wearing a tag of a particular color. In addition, numbers or letters or other indicia are provided on the tags to permit accurate identification of each particular animal in a herd.
As ear indentification tags for animals are increasingly used, various techniques also have been devised for using such tags to release insecticides, insect repellent or animal repellents, either through separately applied tags or by adding a carrier of some type to the identification ear tag.
One concept for combining an identification feature and an insecticide feature is disclosed in the patent to Ritchey U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,453. In Ritchey, the tag itself is made of a material impregnated with an insecticide which bleeds out over a period of time to provide control over flies and other insects that may come near the animal's ear. The problem with the use of an impregnated identification tag is that within a relatively short period of time the insecticide is used up. If continued insect control is desired, the ear tag itself must be removed and replaced with a new tag. This is time consuming and requires the formation of another hole in the animal's ear to reapply a new identification/insecticide tag.
Some other approaches to combining the functions of identification and insect control without the necessity of replacing the identification tag when the insecticide needs replacing are disclosed in the patents to Furer U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,074; Hair U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,630; Akhavein U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,898 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,777; Steckel U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,327; and Meeks U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,708. In the Furer patent a separate disc made of a carrier impregnated with insecticide is made to slide over the pin of the ear tag. When the insecticide is used up, the disc must be pulled off the pin (by aligning a slot in it with the pin), and then a new disc may be palced over the pin. This is a cumbersome operation. The Akhaven patents disclose insecticide carriers which are wrapped around a portion of the tag to fasten upon themselves. Removal and installation of these carriers is cumbersome.
The Meeks, Steckel and Hair patents all are directed to replenishable insecticide devices for use with ear tags, but the tags themselves are of special construction to accommodate the different insecticide dispensers disclosed in these patents.
Another prior art approach to providing insect control for animals has been to utilize an insect dispenser which is separate from any identification tag and which also is applied to the ear of the animal. A variety of different techniques for accomplishing such insect control are disclosed in the patents to Goodwin U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,532; Hair et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,480; Goodwin U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,839; Ohlhausen U.S. Pat. No. 3,756,200; Gerhardi U.S. Pat. No. 3,405,688; Child U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,874; and Ritchey U.S. Pat. No. R. 31,940. All of the patents of this group are directed to devices for dispensing insecticide at the ear of the animal. Some of the devices are attached to the ear by piercing the ear in a manner similar to the technique used for attaching identification tags. Others of the devices are placed inside the ear or are wrapped around a portion of the ear. In all cases, the dispensers are somewhat cumbersome and difficult to replace when the supply of insecticide must be replenished.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a container which may be used in conjunction with insecticides, insect repellents or other materials, and which may be used in conjunction with a standard unmodified ear identification tag. It further is desirable to provide such a container which is easy to apply and which is readily replaceable without requiring any additional holes in the animal's ear.